Another common indication that members of the Zone 2 community haven fallen into a state of “active unenlightenment” is an open & unabashed defense of their own self-centered choices or the selfish decisions of others; rationalizations &/or justifications that tend to manifest themselves under any number of guises – among them the following …

*While those ascribing to Zone 1 principles (or more fairly, a blatant lack of the same) are openly “me first” people who justify most if not all of their expressions of greed or deceit, Zone 2 followers defend their own “occasional” acts of self-interest by claiming that “balance” is a requirement in every full life – that selfish reaping and selfless sowing must be experienced in similar portions, that times of rest & fun must be enjoyed in quantities similar to one’s immersions in work or service, and indeed that our regular “sins” & “failures” are not only inevitable (“I’m only human”) but are actually necessary for our eventual enlightenment (“Enlightenment comes from learning; and learning comes from making mistakes”). Zone 3 participants, on the other hand, regularly discard such misconceptions; knowing as they do that true Enlightenment requires that all our traditional understandings of “wealth” & “happiness” & “success” & even “balance” be radically redefined – that real Balance is only truly known when we immerse ourselves fully in the lives of others; when our own Wealth becomes inextricably linked to their abundance, when our own Happiness is fully intertwined with their joy, and our own Success is deeply linked to their victories. In-deed, for those who are truly Enlightened, real Balance is not a status of self to be singularly attained, but rather a selfless choice to be repeatedly enlivened.

 

 

*Whereas Zone 1 advocates tend to be fervent supporters of feeling sorrow in the face of loss & in grieving heartfelt losses (both of which count as being patently & undeniably self-serving), Zone 2 acolytes hypocritically affirm the same as a means of eventually diminishing the same (sometimes even claiming that such sorrow is a beneficial means of “getting back in touch with God”). Zone 3 adherents, in stark contrast, comprehend the far deeper Truths tied to sorrow & grieving – namely, that immersing oneself in the former neuters one’s ability to act selflessly (and thus potently), and that honoring the latter inevitably intensifies (and ensures the continuance of) the former. In essence, while real Enlightenment does not require that one always choose to be happy, true Enlightenment does require that one always choose to act in the face of (and thereby refuse to wallow in) one’s sorrows.

 

 

*While Zone 1 affiliates are certain that all of life’s “blessings” (e.g. their bodily health, material possessions, monetarily wealth, physical pleasures, &/or emotional euphorias) are inherently deserved – to be repeatedly sought out in ever greater abundance and tightly grasped whenever received (a state of yearning that inevitably breeds ever-escalating experiences of dissatisfaction & disappointment), Zone 2 disciples tend to view those same happenstances as being beneficial to themselves (and therefore evidencing that they are “on the right path”) – ultimately leading to similar experiences of sadness &/or frustration; either fleetingly enjoying them whenever they do arrive or striving to manifest more of them whenever they do not. Zone 3 enthusiasts have chosen to escape this emotional prison by seeing life’s “good times” as blessings to be shared with others and – far more importantly – by seeing life’s “bad times” for what they truly are: as crucial empowerers of any subsequent acts of selfless being, and thus as latent intensifiers of the potential harmony in one’s surroundings (and thereby the potential Peace within oneself). In essence, the ego would have us slip into the “active unenlightenment” of believing that our wealth & health are our greatest assets (a state of mind that has us being not much more than mere chasers of bubbles), and yet our deeper Zone 3 Self ever remembers that our own wealth is only a blessing when used to lessen the poverty of others, and that our own health is only truly good while being used to make those same others feel whole.

 

 

“No matter how successful we become at getting what we want, our lives will thereby know neither profound contentment nor sense of lasting merit. Indeed, to seek lasting happiness from shifts in our outer circumstances can only bring us disappointment – just as seeking to shift the circumstances of others in order to bring them more happiness will ever bring us the same.” ~ inspired by Pema Chodron

 

*Though Zone 1 patrons often proclaim that moral constraints are either potentially malleable for their benefit or already fulfilled by their beliefs &/or behaviors, Zone 2 minions just as often immerse themselves in the “active unenlightenment” of believing that a meaningful life can only be known by removing all moral shackles – by “courageously” liberating oneself from all cultural or societal limitations, and finally “actualizing the True Self” thereby. These people are the ones who loudly state that we must never let any other person or social entity hinder our “personal progress” or limit our potential for “individual well-being.” Zone 3 contributors, of course, subscribe to none of this nonsense, preferring instead to enliven a much deeper Wisdom – namely, that one’s own “true Path” can only be solidly walked while choosing to tread upon another’s way to bear their burdens; that one’s own deepest sense of Freedom can only come while willingly sacrificing the same to liberate another from enslavement or oppression; and that one’s own purest Joy can only come while bringing harmony to those in conflict or happiness to those in despair.

 

 

*Insomuch as Zone 1 confederates are certain that financial wealth and personal comfort are necessary to attain any measure of happiness, Zone 2 crusaders believe that at least a modicum of both are not only regularly required but fully justified. Zone 3 enliveners, in Enlightened contrast, know that neither beneficial external circumstances nor peaceful internal thoughts are required to know the most profound sense of Bliss – indeed that both are actually hindrances to the deeper experiences thereof. For these are those who know that real Joy comes not from personal knowings of abundance or sensations of pleasure, but rather from giving in times of lack &/or being kind is moments of distrust or distress. These Zone 3 standard-bearers are those who maintain the deepest sense of Peace during their times of darkest dis-ease, those who manifest the most profound experience of Joy by willingly sacrificing their own desires for the peace &/or betterment of others. They know that the ultimate goal is Peace – which come only during acts of caring, not mere “inner calm” or outer “wealth” – which cannot arrive lastingly at all.

 

 

*Whereas Zone 1 advocates lock themselves in cycles of sorrow by “seizing the day” via seizing their “rightful portion” of material wealth (from sources thereof that are finite; and thus innately at the expense of others), Zone 2 devotees justify their own unenlightened form of Carpe Diem by claiming that there is more than enough of said wealth for everyone – that everyone is him or her self responsible for laying claim to his or her portion of the same (via the “co-creation of our reality” &/or the mental “manifestation of our wealth” &/or the enlivenment of our ever-available “Law of Attraction”); that doing otherwise is to reject the “gifts that have already been given” us; that our time on Earth is limited and that we can only “honor our lives” by harvesting the most possible benefits therefrom in the few moments with which we have been blessed to do so. Zone 3 attendants, on the other heart, choose to adopt a very different Enlightenment – one that is more active for others than it is wishful for self; one that comprehends that there is no true Wealth without concurrent acts of giving, nor true Health without enabling another’s sense of wholeness. These are the people who have finally come to comprehend that we cannot hope to experience the Bliss of Oneness by striving to obtain “more” (or even “enough”) for ourselves. Rather, quite reasonably, true Oneness can only be experienced in those moments we choose to act as selfless agents of the One – therein & thereby knowing profound & heartfelt Peace: the only form of Abundance worth possessing at all.

 

 

*While Zone 1 affiliates feel sure that they are only morally obligated to care for themselves and their loved ones, Zone 2 members frequently submit to the “active unenlightenment” of caring for themselves in the short term to then better care for others at some point thereafter. Despite being persuasively masked under the seemingly altruistic veils of “self love,” “self respect,” &/or “responsible choice-making,” Zone 3 venturers understand that these terms (and all those like them) are not solid justifications for acting selfishly, but rather hollow, weak-willed excuses for not acting caringly. Indeed, it is a simple-yet-profound Truth that doing for ourselves always precludes any real Doing for others; that preparing to be better able to give at some point in the future always prevents us from Giving in the only time we have to truly do so – our Here&Now. The Zone 3 Soul knows that the ego never runs out of “critical needs” that must be first met before service to others can be rendered – and that even in the rare moments of comfort or abundance when those needs have been satisfied, the ease with which any concurrent acts of “generosity” are offered is so weak as to be essentially meaningless (and thus effectively impotent). And yet an alternative to this state of ignorance is ever available – an alternative as bold as it is simple, and that alternative is this one: go forth into any moment’s surroundings and seek to do that which one fears the most; to open oneself completely to the very person one least loves or admires, and to do so in the way that requires the greatest self-sacrifice and that offers the least personal reward. And when that expression of Self is attained – when we choose the humility to see the lives of others as opportunities to serve & not be served; to Care for them instead of be cared for by them; to Love as opposed to be loved – then & only then is the raw Bliss of Oneness not only understood, but lived; not only comprehend, but experienced; not only realized, but actualized. And this state of being is where true Enlightenment resides; the state if being where life is about giving instead of getting and bringing solace instead of attaining success; the state of being that Jesus called “the Kingdom of Heaven” and Buddha named “Nirvana.”

 

 

“Those who seek to find happiness for themselves will never know real Joy … Those who seek to receive salvation for themselves will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven … Those who seek enlightenment for themselves will never feel the soft embrace of real Truth.” ~ inspired by Buddha, Jesus Christ, & Adyashanti

 

*Though Zone 1 patrons demand an open disdain for (and often an aggression interaction with) their enemies, Zone 2 accomplices maintain an outlook towards their foes that is in actuality only slightly more mild – championing the erection & regular maintenance of “healthy boundaries” against the same; lambasting, ignoring, or otherwise “weeding out” all of their life’s “leeches” &/or “negative personalities” (so that they won’t become damaged or drained by the same). Of course, Zone 3 assistants are aware of (and act upon) several highly ironic Truths related thereto – 01) that it is precisely these “negative” people who are in most dire need of the Kindness we could be giving them, 02) that by shunning them in any way (“healthy” or otherwise) we are only passing their dysfunctional aggression onto others (while ultimately summoning more of the same to ourselves), and 03) that it is the difficulties that these individuals pose to the giving of our Love that makes that Love so powerfully transformative (to them, of course, and yet also to those witnessing its giving and to ourselves while doing that giving) if given anyway.

 

 

“To believe that you can manipulate your Reality in order to dampen your own suffering is to push yourself ever-closer to the cliff of absolute apathy – a numbing of compassion for others’ pains, a numbing of the relation to your own True Self, a neutering of your ability to deeply Love others, and thus a castration of the latently majestic Meaning available in every moment of sadness (when you choose to be Grateful anyway), every moment of anger (when you choose to Be Kind anyway), and every moment of fear (when you choose to Give anyway).” ~ anonymous

Filed under: Enlightening Enlightenment by Scaughdt